


Remains of the Day

by SymphonicWinds



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: F/M, SIGHS IN RAREPAIR HELL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:33:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SymphonicWinds/pseuds/SymphonicWinds
Summary: Dunban reflects on his and Melia's precarious relationship.
Relationships: Melia Ancient | Melia Antiqua & Dunban
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Remains of the Day

He still remembers when she propositioned him.

She had asked first, of course. Dunban barely had time to think of himself, let alone of his needs and desires. She propositioned him, in his home, as the ether lamp was beginning to soften its glow.

Yes, she was older than him, significantly older than him. But she was also half High Entia, and her youthful appearance reminded him too much of Fiora. Remembering that hit him with a pang of guilt.

But as she looked at him, half-afraid and half-hopeful, there was no way he could refuse her.

At first, he reassured himself that it was the right thing to do. She had laid it out plainly: she was to get married, eventually, and she didn’t have the privilege of picking her own consort. Melia was a busy woman, who didn’t have time for romance. She would probably go along with whatever her ministers decided. But she wanted her first experience to be for herself, not for the purpose of continuing her bloodline.

But why him, he had asked her.

Because I trust you.

Dunban had heard these words before. The people of colonies 9 and 6 trusted him as their Hero. Fiora, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla and Riki trusted him as a friend. But the way Melia had said that word to him, _trust_ , in his darkening kitchen, electrified him.

And so, they went to bed together.

Their first time together was difficult. He was still learning how to maneuver his useless arm, even after all these years, and he wished he had both his hands to fully experience her. She was what he expected from a virgin: timid, but with a type of childish determination he had never seen from her before. Dunban was used to Melia’s posh mannerisms, and for the first time, he thought he saw every bit of her façade fall away as he welcomed her into his arms.

But, by the time they were finished, they both knew it wouldn’t be their last time together.

They always found their way back to each other. Sometimes it was in his house in Colony 9, sometimes it was in her chambers at Algamoth and sometimes it was in a field with the cool breeze of Eryth sea acting as their blanket.

As their arrangement continued, his resolved wavered. Was he doing this for her, or for him? He wasn’t sure whether he was in love with her, or if he was using her to fill some hole deep within himself. But he had gotten to know her, the softness of her skin, the hills and valleys of her body. But also, her worries. Her hopes. Her ambitions. She whispered them to him as they lied together, still sweaty from their latest tryst of passion. It was the only time she would reveal herself to him, to anyone, and he took on her worries as she took on his.

It was dangerous for them to continue. Dunban was the head of the defense force and Melia was the Empress of an entire people. The scandal could destroy everything they had. But the line between friendship and relationship continued to blur, as their touches became more intimate and deliberate, their fucking turned to love making, and their time together increased.

Dunban knew that this – they – couldn’t last forever. Would they be able to remain friends, or would their passion, no, their mistake, force them apart and make them strangers?

Dunban kissed the back of Melia’s head as she lied next to him, asleep, and prayed that the night would stay for just a little while longer.


End file.
